Fastener



Feb. 18, 1936. S,E,CA F BELL 2,031,407

FASTENER\ Filed June 15, 1955 Patented Feb. 18, 1936 PATENT OFFICE FASTENER V Stanley E. Campbell, Saginaw,Mich., assignor to V Germain Manufa.cturing Company, Sagna.w, Mich., a, corporation of Michigan Application June 13, 1935, Serial No. 26,348

5 Claims.

, This invention relates to improvements in the constructioh a,nd operation of fasteners and, With regard to certain more specific fea,tures, to releasing faSteners with automatic clutching means for cords end the'like.

The objects" of the inventon are, the provison of a, fastener for cords such as are used on venetian b1inds, wndow shades, awnings and the 1ike adtpted to permit free play of the contro] cord Whi1e it is beingmanipulated, but to automatically grip. the cord when it is released; the provision of such a device which W1l grip a single corri, or two cords tog'ether; which is positive and dependable in its grip action on the cord; which Will grip equally two parallel co1ds, although they may be of somewhat difierent diameters at the place where they are gripped, the gripping means being adapted:to automatically adjust itself to such variabl cird1imstances of use; the pro- Vsion of a, grippng device which will not unduly wear the cord after 1ong continued. use, which will grip the cord wth oniy a, very slight amount of lengthwis movementof the cord., and also will requir no sidewise displacement of the freely hanging end of'the cord in order to automatically produce the gripping action when the other end of the cord is pulled.

My inventin comprises the structural features, the elements end combinations of elements and the arrangement of parts which will herein after be descrbed as being embodied in a pre'fened form of the inventon. V V

In the iccompanying drawng there is illustrated one of various embodiments, and the scope of the application of the invention will be indicated in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a fastener embodying rny improvement.

Fig. 2 is a, side view, partly in section, one side of the housing being removed, the cord gripping device being in its inoperative position.

Fig. 3 is a similar view, shovving the gripping device in action.

Fig. 4 is a front view With the cord removed.

Fig. 5 is a, view in perspective.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the grpping javv associated. with the guide rod.

Fig. 7 is a, fragmentary view showing a modified form of guide member for the jaw.

Like reference characters indicate corresDonding parts throughout the several vews of the drawing.

The fastener consists of a housing, preferably made of sheet metal, consisting of spaced side walls I, 2,'a bottom 3 and top member 4, end

suitable flanges 5 for fastening the housing to a. fixed support. In the upper part of the housing between the 'sde'walls I, 2 is a, curved cord' guide, preferably in the form of a; pulley 6, ,mounted on a pini that Connects the side wa1ls I, 2. Pulley 6 is preferably of suta.ble width to accommodate 'two cords side by side, although t may also be used With a single cord. The side wa.lls of the housing are likewise spaced just far enough apart to permt the cords to operate properly on the pulley, and so serveas guid'es for the cords. An elongated guide member 8 is provided in the housing, spaced from andopposte the cord guide or pulley 6. It is preferably an elongated rod whichis fixed in a, substaintaliy upright position midway of the width of the housing, between the side wa,lls I, 2. Guide member 8 is preferably positioned at a. slight incline from the vertical, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Its upper end is farther avvay from the vertica,l plane, y-y which ncludes the axis of pulley 6, than its lower end. I

A gripping member or ja.w 9 is freely slidable up and down iengthwise of the elongated guide member 8, being formed With a hole 9a that loosely receives the member 8. Normally the jaw 9- restson the bottom 3 of the.housing, as is shown in Fig. 2. The working face ID ofjaw 9 is opposed to pulleyi and is roughened so as'to present projections, such as ratchet-like teeth or serra'tions. The working face IO is also sloped rearwardly fromits bottom edgetoward its top, and may be curved upwardly end rearwardly, that is, to the right in Figs. 2 and 3.

The serrations on the workng fece I 0 may extend straight. a.cioss it from side to side. The width of jaw 9 is appropriate to accommodate two cords placed side by side, and the jaw occupies nearly the full Width between the side walls I, 2 of the housing, as shown in Fig. 4, allowing the working face IO to have a small amount of sidewise tu'mng and also a tilting movement on the rod 8.

The operation of the fastener will be described as it is seen to function when controlling two parallel cords II, I2.

It will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description tha.t after the cords Il, I2 have been passed around the pulley 6 and downwardly past the working face Il! of the vertically sldable jaw 9, as shown in Fig. 2, a pul1 on the cords in the direction of the arrow will be halted by the gripping action between the jaw and the pulley When the jaw has been raised from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 3. When the jaw 

